India police face public outrage after Apple executive shot dead

Police in India are facing increased scrutiny as they try to find the killer of an Apple executive last weekend.

An Indian man who worked as a manager for Apple was shot dead by police last weekend in an incident that has generated significant controversy. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Vivek Tiwari, a 38-year-old sales manager at Apple, was shot by police constables while traveling through Lucknow. Police said they tried to stop the vehicle, and the officer accused of pulling the trigger said he didn’t.
“I didn’t shoot at him. The bullet was shot by mistake,” the constable, Preshant Chaundhary, said.

Both officers involved in the event have been arrested.

The state government promised $54,600 and a job at the municipal corporation for Vivek’s wife, Kalpana Tiwari. She has met with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

“I wanted strict action against the guilty, a job, accommodation, expenses for the education of my daughters and my mother-in-law,” Kalpana Tiwari said. “My demands have been met.”

“The backbone of the family has been broken,” brother-in-law Vishnu Kant Shukla said. “Vivek is gone and nothing can replace him but we hope those who shot him will be brought to justice.”

There are also concerns that police tried to cover up the shooting.

Since March 2017, there have been 1,481 encounters in which 67 people were killed by police, the Hindustan Times reported. Nearly 400 were injured and 2,800 arrested.

In another police-related incident, a 12-year-old boy was killed in Firozabad after he accidentally stepped on an officer’s toes at a wedding.